Poor Tribals, Kandha of Orissa, are not Maoists

By Dr Bhagban Mallick
Bhubaneswar

At a time when Government of India and states like Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh are struggling to bring peace in the country, criticizing Government stand and twisting our Hon’ble Prime Minister views on the issue by noted writer –activist Arundhati Roy in an interview to Times of India is very unfortunate and uncalled for. These are sensitive issues and pose danger to the Integrity of the country. Calling Government action against anti social and national element as a war against indigenous people requires condemnation at all level and investigation in the national security interest.

In the interview published in the Times of India on October 3, Arundhati Roy has also tried to link the issue with proposed Bauxite Mining in Orissa. The data presented and issue raised is far from facts and shows her ignorance about the Bauxite Mining. East Coast Bauxite deposits, one of the largest Bauxite deposits in the world, are located across the Eastern Ghats. The total deposits may cross more than 2 billion tones but other than Panchpatmali deposits of NALCO, not even a single deposit is being exploited today. The deposits are one of the finest and shallow deposits with very low stripping ratio of 1: 0.2 to 0.5 instead of 1:13 mentioned in the interview. Normally, these deposits are located above 900 M of mean sea level where there is neither habitation nor vegetation. This is mainly because the top surface is very hard and laterite and does not allow percolation of rain water through it. Hence, in most of the areas exploitation of these deposits does not call for any displacement of tribal and will greatly help in overall development of the tribal belts which are still lacking in all the facilities even after more than six decades of Independence. Bauxite generally contains two main element viz. Iron Oxide (comes out as Red Mud of Bauxite Processing) and Alumina which is used for making Aluminum. If Iron and Steel and their oxides are Radioactive, then we have to stop using the same as a material of construction from the interview it appears that the noted writer may have to learn something about Geology and Mining before making any remarks which can misguide people. Similarly, the water requirement in Aluminium Industry is very small and mainly utilized for Power Generation. The total requirement including Bauxite Mining, Alumina and Aluminium may be less than 80-90 Tonnes per toinnes of Aluminium compared to 1300Tonnes reported in the interview. As a noted writer, she owes responsibility towards nation and no one can expect such irresponsible interview to be published on her behalf.

Today, India is having more than 15% of world Aluminium deposits but contributing less than 2% of total world Aluminum production. She must know the total Bauxite mining being done in Australia which is also originally belongs to poor tribal called Aborigines. Today Australia is contributing more than 15% in world Alumina trade. It has been accepted worldwide that Bauxite mining is one of the most eco friendly mining as no vegetation/ greenery can be developed in areas of Bauxite deposits. However, the mined out areas can easily be converted into green hills/valleys and make them suitable for vegetation /cultivation by generating water bodies. The examples have already been set by companies like NALCO, ALCOA, ALCAN, AP, Rio Tinto etc. Hence, calling Bauxite Mining in Orissa as one of the most devastating kinds of mining is not right and shows ignorance on the subject. Similarly, name Khondalite is nothing to do with Bauxite in Niyamgiri in Orissa .Khondalite is a regional rock name rooted in the history of petrological research in the Indian subcontinent. The use of the term remains overwhelmingly linked to this region, although it has been transported beyond its original use in India to Burma, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, China, Antarctica and even the Grenville-age metamorphic terrane of the Adirondack Mountains in New York State, in North America. Within India, most references to khondalite follow an arc of southern and eastern states: Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. The usage of the name khondalite dates to Walker. Walker originated the term to refer to the suite of rocks including quartz- garnet- sillimanite- graphite gneisses, together with garnet gneiss, quartzofeldspathic gneiss and quartzite, which host manganese deposits in the state of Orissa.